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Monday, February 27, 2012

It feels odd that I actually managed to watch only a little of the All-Star Weekend. I missed out on the festivities... Am I disappointed? Maybe. Or maybe not.

You see, it has been a weekend habit of mine as of late to cover football here, doing tweetcasts on behalf of Soccer Central Philippines for the United Football League. That means, for the past few weeks has been no rest for the weary, so the upcoming break will be a great reprieve.

I actually missed the Saturday activities (which is on Sunday) due to previouscommitments. Ditto for the game itself, which oddly enough, took place on Oscar night.

Monday, February 20, 2012

You're probably wondering where the heck has been the basketball stuff I have been doing. Well, I have been a little busy with the other sport of devotion as of late, and I have been remiss on the duty, so here. I will break down the All-Star Friday and Saturday for you. The All-Star Game itself will have something on its own at a later time.

BBVA Rising Stars Challenge - Novel idea to have "captains" (in this case being Shaq and Sir Charles) make their selections, which were based from players voted in by the NBA assistant coaches, and of course, an assist from "Commissioner" Kenny Smith (for Lin and Cole).

Team Shaq has Blake Griffin, Jeremy Lin, Ricky Rubio, Markieff Morris, Kemba Walker, Landry Fields, Norris Cole, Brandon Knight, Tristan Thompson and Greg Monroe. They will have Ron Adams of Chicago as their head coach, with TNT's Steve Kerr as an assistant.

Team Chuck has Kyrie Irving, DeMarcus Cousins, Derrick Williams, Paul George, Marshon Brooks, John Wall, Tiago Splitter, Evan Turner, Gordon Hayward and Kawhi Leonard. They will have Maurice Cheeks of Oklahoma City as their head coach, with TNT's Mike Fratello as an assistant.

With this, it may replace the Dunk Contest as the biggest highlight of the weekend other than the All-Star Game.

Sprint Celebrity Challenge - Dwight and KD will be the head coaches, but the interesting idea of Jersey Shore's Vinny lobbying to make this roster paid off.

Haier Shooting Stars - Team Atlanta aims to defend their title with Joe Johnson and Lindsey Harding as the new wingmen to holdover Steve Smith. Team Texas also has a holdover in Kenny Smith, but will be joined by Sophia Young and Gator alumnus Chandler Parsons. Team New York will have Landry Fields, Cappie Pondexter and Allan Houston; while Team Orlando will have Jameer Nelson, Marie-Ferdinand Harris (who is a Florida native) and Dennis Scott to try to win it for the home fans.

Taco Bell Skills Challenge - No official list yet, but if healthy, Stephen Curry should be defending the title against a gaggle of fellow youngsters with the depth at the position available. Ricky Rubio should be in this competition, as well as Kyrie Irving. If the NBA wants to squeeze as much out of Jeremy Lin, he would be in this competition, too.

Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout - James Jones returns to defend his title against five other noted shooters in Kevin Love, Ryan Anderson, Joe Johnson, his own teammate in Mario Chalmers, and Anthony Morrow. The Net is already currying favors in paying homage to late great Drazen Petrovic in this competition.

Sprite Slam Dunk Contest - No Blake Griffin repeat, but hopefully Chase Budinger, Iman Shumpert, Paul George and Derrick Williams has the opportunity to entertain the fan base with three dunks. No judges on court, as it will be done via texts and tweets, opening it to the power of the people. It is of course assumed that Iman will figure a way to incorporate Jeremy Lin into the equation.

Here forth are the links after the jump to welcome the morning for you.

Monday, February 13, 2012

I was watching a portion of the Grammys earlier. Of course they did some minor tweaks in the aftermath of Whitney Houston passing. Just some minor thoughts.

I would have wanted to see Etta James and Don Cornelius on the In Memoriam vignette. Both were not on it. Nate Dogg was simplified into a group instead of individual like what they did to Amy Winehouse or Whitney. Sure thing they put a tribute for Etta in already with Raitt and Keys. But that is different.
I will definitely be in the minority with regards to Chris Brown. Ok, so he beats up women, fine. He still has talent for music. Speaking of which...

CBreezy was doing his thing alongside David Guetta and Lil' Wayne, then the Foo Fighters did theirs, followed by this!

Adele was the worthy winner. Going 6/6 on your 2nd album in the Grammys is sweet. Another worthy winner? Jennifer Hudson. Tasked to sing the song originally sung by Dolly Parton, she killed it onstage. The simplistic preparation of the segment also was great. Fitting, too. Contrast that to what Nicki Minaj did. That seemed more appropriate for the MTV VMAs.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Starting later tonight, professional basketball in the Philippines resumes with the start of the Commissioner's Cup. With the backdrop of the fascinating All-Filipino Cup between the underdog Powerade Tigers and the newly minted champions Talk N' Text Tropang Texters, Philippine basketball re-emerges into the spotlight and attention of the Filipino sports fan.

The success of the "Kampihan Na!" campaign fostered by the partnership of the PBA and AkTV has already netted some dividends, as the league earned P39 million in gate receipts, exceeding the P36 million target. With regards to television, 1.2 million viewers watched the Game 7 telecast of the semifinals between bitter rivals Petron Blaze Boosters and TNT.

The previous conference thrust new players into the spotlight, namely SMART Gilas I alumni JVee Casio, Chris Lutz, Dylan Ababou, Marcio Lassiter and the establishment of Gary David as a bonafide star in the league. Who can forget his virtuoso postseason for the 8th seeded Tigers. He deserved to win the Best Player of the Conference trophy.

The new conference will have one major tweak, and that is the inclusion of an import with unlimited height. As it was discussed during the press conference last Wednesday, having the right import could be all the difference between making it to the next stage or missing it.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

We all know about how good Austin Rivers really is. Highly touted recruit. Goes to Duke. Struggled early on, but we know the talent is there. And he put that on full blast against their fierce rivals North Carolina.

39 minutes. 29 points (most for a freshman at the Dean Dome). 5 rebounds. 2 assists. 1 steal. 9/16 shooting from the field. Went 6/10 from beyond the arc, with his final attempt being something like this:

At least for one night, we know Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers more as Austin's dad, instead of Austin being Doc's kid.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The 2012 AFC Challenge Cup is a month away, and in line with the
preparation for that particular competition, the Philippine Football Federation has
arranged for a training camp / tour for the senior national team in the
Middle East. It is hoped that the location will facilitate chemistry between those based in the Philippines with their overseas-based counterparts, with the competition getting closer and closer. It is an opportunity as well to provide goodwill for the large Filipino community based in the Gulf region.

Based in Dubai and Doha, the training will span from
the 7th to the 17th and will include three friendlies, two against
international sides and one against a top quality Qatari side. The first
friendly will be against the Uzbekistan Olympic Team at the Al-Maktoum
Stadium in Dubai on February 11 (8pm local time, 12mn in Manila). The
Uzbek side shares the group lead with the United Arab Emirates in their
quest to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics with two group matches
remaining. They will then proceed to Doha for their match against Qatari side Al-Ahly on February 13 (730pm local time, 1230am on February 14 in Manila) before returning to Dubai to face the Australian Olympic Team at the Al-Maktoum Stadium on February 16 (8pm local time, 12mn in Manila). The Olyroos are actually in the same group with Uzbekistan in Olympic Qualifying, but they are a distant third and their chances to advance are slim with two matches remaining and they have a five-point deficit against the leaders.

ABS-CBN Sports as part of their commitment with the PFF, will be broadcasting the matches of the senior national team. They have confirmed that there will be a live broadcast of the international friendlies on the 11th and 16th, whilst the Al-Ahly friendly is still being worked on. The Dubai friendlies will have a pregame that will start at 1130pm and will be shown on Studio 23, with the replays to take place the following morning at 11am.

Monday, February 6, 2012

That was some ball game last night. The Book of Eli comes through once again. Another fourth quarter comeback. The vaunted offense of New England scuttled to only 17 points. They did not make mistakes. They forced the Patriots to make theirs, which was just enough for them to win a Super Bowl in the fourth straight decade. Maybe this time Eli gets his due. Maybe this time Tom Coughlin gets to coach for as long as he wants without people asking him to be fired.

It's amazing that a Manning gets to lift the Lombardi at Indianapolis.

And M.I.A. did not give us the finger.

Here forth are the links to things you may have missed in the afterglow of the Super Bowl